In commercial bakeries, proofer trays are used in an intermediate step of the baking procedure. After the dough has been prepared and divided, it is formed into balls and then deposited into trays for conveyance through a proofer box. A succession of such proofer trays, each carrying 4 to 6 dough balls, are pivotally supported on mounting pins between conveyor chains. The proofer box provides a controlled environment to allow time for proofing or rising of the dough balls during passage of the trays. After the trays have passed through the proofer box, they are tipped over to discharge the dough balls so that they can then be conveyed to a molder-panner for further forming and baking.
Various such proofer trays have been available heretofore. Proofer trays have been constructed from wood or metal having suitable pockets or cups for receiving the doughballs. U.S. Pat. No. 1,712,211 to Hanson is representative of the early prior art in this regard. Such trays usually required dusting with flour or spraying with oil to facilitate release of the dough balls after passage through the proofer box. In addition, these early proofer trays were typically constructed in a manner characterized by seams, crevices, etc. which tended to accumulate undesirable deposits of excess materials and contaminants, which in turn made it difficult to maintain the necessary cleanliness. These early proofer trays thus required frequent maintenance and cleaning, which of course was time consuming and expensive in terms of the overall baking operation.
More recently, proofer trays of molded plastic construction have become available. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,398,880 and 4,560,139 are representative the prior art in this regard. However, while molded plastic construction has facilitated cleanliness, such proofer trays are difficult to repair if damaged. The mounting pins at the ends of such proofer trays can easily become bent or damaged if the conveyor chains should lurch, bind, etc. Because of their construction, the mounting pins in the trays of the prior art are not readily repairable. For example, hot air welding is typically used in constructing the mounting pin assemblies after molding the Aeromat Plastics tray shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,139. This causes the surrounding molded material to become hard and brittle, leading to cracking and breakage at both ends of each tray. This in turn has often required replacement of the entire proofer tray upon even slight damage to either mounting pin.
A need has thus arisen for a proofer tray of improved construction. Heretofore, there has not been available a molded bakery proofer tray which is not only adapted to facilitate cleanliness, but which is also more structurally sound and adapted to facilitate repair if damaged.